1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to vehicle telematics radios and, more particularly, to a vehicle telematics radio operable for providing and disabling driving directions to pre-selected destinations.
2. Background Art
Telematics is the use of computer systems in concert with telecommunication systems. Automotive vehicles can include telematics radios which combine wireless phone, on-board autonomous navigation, off-board navigation, and audio functions for a vehicle operator.
A vehicle telematics radio performs on-board autonomous or off-board navigation in order to provide the vehicle operator with driving directions or a navigational route to a desired destination. For instance, the operator may want driving directions to a desired destination in a city. The operator requests the driving directions from the telematics radio by inputting the address of the desired destination into the telematics radio. The telematics radio then communicates with a global positioning satellite to receive a position signal indicative of the current position of the vehicle. The telematics radio then accesses a database containing a map of the city and determines the driving directions to the desired destination. The telematics radio then provides the driving directions to the operator.
The telematics radio communicates with the global positioning satellite to update the driving directions to the desired destination as the operator drives the vehicle. The telematics radio may also access vehicle speed detectors and vehicle gyroscopes/compasses while the vehicle is being driven to further determine the driving directions.
A problem with typical telematics radios is that it is tedious for the operator to input the address of a desired destination into the telematics radio each time the operator wants driving directions.